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Place dossier plate
SheetCA-IMPERIAL-BEACH-CA · Imperial Beach, CA 25,897 pop · income 61st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Imperial Beach
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Imperial Beach on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Wasco · lowest
55,521
Wasco · lowest
55,521 median HH income
27.3% of the leader · rank #1
Wickliffe · near
79,052
Wickliffe · near
79,052 median HH income
38.8% of the leader · rank #2
Imperial Beach · this city
79,071
Imperial Beach · this city
79,071 median HH income
38.8% of the leader · rank #3
Cumming · near
79,073
Cumming · near
79,073 median HH income
38.8% of the leader · rank #4
Kachina · near
79,085
Kachina · near
79,085 median HH income
38.8% of the leader · rank #5
North Hornell · near
79,091
North Hornell · near
79,091 median HH income
38.9% of the leader · rank #6
Colleyville · highest
203,566
Colleyville · highest
203,566 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Imperial Beach on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 25,897.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Imperial Beach - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Imperial Beach places in the 61st percentile for household income and the 57th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
61st
percentile, household income
95th
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
57th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Imperial Beach, CA
Imperial Beach is a small city in California, home to 25,897 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Imperial Beach households earn a median of $79,071 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.8%. Home values in Imperial Beach run a median of $811,000, and the median resident age is 35.2 years. About 23.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 60.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 78 residential building permits were authorized in Imperial Beach (Building Boom), up 333% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Imperial Beach reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1176.4 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
California carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts California at 110.7 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $2,053 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $275 across California, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. The average commute for Imperial Beach workers runs 25.0 minutes, with 71.6% driving alone and 9.4% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 88.7 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Imperial Beach's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from reported crime to housing and income to population change to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Imperial Beach, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Imperial Beach?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1176.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 48% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
How far does income reach against housing in Imperial Beach?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 10.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Is Imperial Beach growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -849 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 78 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Imperial Beach?
Within California, the closest population matches are El Cerrito (25,781 residents, $127,475 income); North Tustin (26,038 residents, $186,250 income); Galt (25,665 residents, $86,327 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Colleyville, TX (25,906 residents); Moscow, ID (25,868 residents); Ballenger Creek, MD (25,866 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Imperial Beach?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 71.6%. The reported mean trip to work is 25.0 minutes.
Public transit
4.4%
Work from home
9.4%
Drive alone
71.6%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 13,328 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Imperial Beach?
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 23.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
6
Bachelor's degree+
23.7%
Poverty estimate
8.8%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 8.8% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
110.7 (US=100)
Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average
F
City profile score · Imperial Beach, CA
34/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Household income C
$79,071
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share D
23.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate D
8.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
539 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
110.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Imperial Beach profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 58/100 (C) · $79,071
Bachelor's+ share: 45/100 (D) · 23.7%
Poverty rate: 44/100 (D) · 8.8%
Violent crime: 14/100 (F) · 539 /100k
Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index
Where Imperial Beach sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Imperial Beach's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Imperial Beach highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Imperial Beach, CA (this city): home $811,000, crime 1,176/100k
Colleyville, TX : home $718,900, crime 577/100k
Moscow, ID : home $352,000, crime 1,034/100k
Lodi, NJ : home $449,200, crime 1,510/100k
El Cerrito, CA : home $1,107,500, crime 3,524/100k
Galt, CA : home $465,700, crime 1,883/100k
Windsor, CA : home $763,200, crime 967/100k
Hercules, CA : home $741,200, crime 842/100k
How does Imperial Beach compare to other US cities?
Here's how Imperial Beach stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income61% higher than other cities
Home value95% pricier than other cities
Median rent88% pricier than other cities
Safety57% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at California, Imperial Beach ranks #95 of 441 California cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Imperial Beach against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to California only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
California-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Imperial Beach near the bottom of California's cities
Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Imperial Beach ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Imperial Beach only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#791 of 1,338
41st percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#360 of 1,343
73rd percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#565 of 1,450
61st percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#782 of 1,458
46th percentile in California
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within California only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
61st percentile nationally for median household income · 57th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Imperial Beach's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Imperial Beach's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Imperial Beach's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$811,0005th percentilemore affordable than 5% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,373 of 15,516
More affordable than 1% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,288 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 10.3×, Imperial Beach sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,373 of 15,516 and #3,288 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$79,071Imperial Beach, CA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Imperial Beach, CA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Imperial Beach, CA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)23.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
25,897
Median Income
$79,071
Median Home Value
$811,000
Median Age
35.2
Poverty Rate
8.8%
Labor force participation
60.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
23.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1176.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
538.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
637.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Imperial Beach's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
26,055 residents
2021
25,866 residents
2022
25,670 residents
2023
25,515 residents
2024
25,423 residents
2025
25,206 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
78
housing units authorized
Single-Family
66
detached homes
Multifamily
12
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
18
18
0
$2.5M
2020
30
30
0
$3.4M
2021
38
20
18
$5.7M
2022
18
18
0
$2.2M
2023
59
34
25
$6.6M
2024
78
66
12
$18.8M
Permit volume increased 333% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
25.0 minutes
Drive Alone
71.6%
Carpool
9.5%
Public Transit
4.4%
Walk
3.5%
Work from Home
9.4%
Other
1.6%
Based on 13,328 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
California statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across California at $275 (electricity about $150 , water and sewer about $70 ).
These are California statewide averages, not a meter reading for Imperial Beach. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
California's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.7 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Imperial Beach is $2,053/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to California statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a California statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Imperial Beach sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Imperial Beach compares to similar-size California cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.